BANGKOK — Cheng Pei-pei, a legendary figure in Chinese action cinema, passed away at the age of 78. She was renowned for her starring roles in two landmark films: King Hu’s influential wuxia classic “Come Drink With Me” and Ang Lee’s critically acclaimed “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which received multiple Oscar nominations.
According to reports from Variety, Cheng’s life came to an end on Thursday, July 18, in the San Francisco Bay area. The cause of death was attributed to a degenerative brain disease. In a final act of contribution to medical science, Cheng had arranged for her brain to be donated for research purposes.
Many Thai film fans who love Chinese and Hong Kong movies learned about Cheng Pei-pei’s news from the “Nine Lonely Swords” Facebook page, an expert source on Chinese and Hong Kong entertainment news. The page also provided detailed information about the actress’s biography and works.
Cheng Pei-pei was born in Shanghai on January 6, 1946, as the eldest of four siblings. Her father worked in the patrol unit in Shanghai. After the war against Japan, he opened China’s first ink factory.
In elementary school, Cheng Pei-pei studied at Shanghai World Elementary School. Later, she studied ballet in Shanghai for six years from junior high school. In 1962, Cheng Pei-pei moved to Hong Kong, and the following year she enrolled in the Shaw Brothers’ acting school. Upon graduation, she immediately signed a contract with Shaw Brothers.
Her first film was “Lovers’ Rock” (1964), written and directed by Lei Pan. This film was selected as the outstanding work from the Best Foreign Language Film category from Taiwan at the 37th Academy Awards but was not nominated.
However, this work received the “Most Promising Movie Star Golden Warrior Award” from the American International Independent Producers Association, making her the first Asian actress to receive this award.
Two years later, Cheng Pei-pei gained immense popularity from the film “Come Drink with Me” (1966) directed by King Hu, which is considered a pioneering work in Hong Kong’s wuxia films of that era. It was one of Shaw Brothers’ international successes, being screened in foreign countries such as New York, Tokyo, and at the Cannes Film Festival. It even had a sequel called “Golden Swallow.” This success earned Cheng Pei-pei the nickname “Queen of Swords.”
King Hu told critic Tony Rayns in an interview that he intentionally chose a ballet dancer for this leading female role because it was crucial for the film. As King Hu placed great importance on fight scenes, having a female actor with a dance background made the action scenes graceful yet fierce and fluid.
Cheng Pei-pei continued to act in several films with Shaw Brothers until 1970 when she withdrew from the film industry and traveled to California, USA, to marry Yuan Dong, a Taiwanese tycoon. After marriage, she entered an American university for higher education and studied dance arts. She had four children: three daughters and one son.
Cheng Pei-pei returned to act in two films for Shaw Brothers and one for Golden Harvest before stopping her acting career in the 70s.
In 1980, Cheng Pei-pei established a television production company called “Xingxiang Communication Co., Ltd.” in Los Angeles, USA, to produce and organize a Chinese-American documentary series titled “Follow the Past and Open the Future” for the Public Broadcasting Service.
In 1981, the news magazine program “60 Minutes” of China Television Company established its first foreign production team in Los Angeles, responsible for special reports on American news events. Cheng Pei-pei was one of the team members during its founding period.
In 1987, Cheng Pei-pei divorced her husband and returned to acting, appearing in “Flirting Scholar” (1993) with Stephen Chow.
Cheng Pei-pei’s fame resurged with her role in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000), which earned her the Best Supporting Actress award at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Afterward, she alternated between film and television roles. In 2018, she received the 24th Huading Award Chinese TV Series Lifetime Achievement Award.
As the first actress to become the iconic image of a female martial arts hero, even as she aged, she continued to appear in films featuring female lead characters. Besides “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” she also starred in “Naked Weapon” (2002), “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” (2009), and “Mulan” (2020).
Host Cao Kefan announced her death on Weibo, saying: “Every time I met Sister Pei-pei, I was impressed by her laughter. Even when we talked about difficult years in the past, she never complained or lamented. She often communicated in Shanghai dialect, saying that speaking it took her back to her childhood. She said that old Shanghai people had gentle and graceful manners. Her demeanor was very friendly. In recent years, I heard that Sister Pei-pei’s health was not good. I didn’t think she would leave us forever. There will be no pain in heaven. I wish her a good journey!”
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